Zoso
Brown |home = Underworld The Frontlands |portrayedby = Brad Dourif |firstappearance = Desperate Souls |latestappearance = Swan Song }} Zoso, formerly known as the Dark One and briefly as Old Beggar, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the eighth episode of the first season and is portrayed by guest star Brad Dourif. History Later, he is enslaved by the Duke of the Frontlands, who acquires the dagger and gives it to one of his soldiers, Hordor. During an Ogre War, the Duke enlists all children aged fourteen to be trained as soldiers for his army. He dispatches Hordor to a village to pick up a girl named Morraine, who recently turned fourteen, as her parents beg for mercy. From a considerable distance, Zoso is ordered by Hordor via the dagger to magically force Morraine's parents into submission, which frightens the other villagers immensely. Unable to be freed of the curse of the Dark One, Zoso decides to goad someone else into killing him with the dagger so he can be free. He manipulates a cowardly wool spinner, Rumplestiltskin, whose only desire is to protect his son Baelfire from being forced to fight in the Ogre War. Disguised as a beggar, Zoso gains his sympathy and is offered food and shelter for the night. Zoso purposely tells Rumplestiltskin about the wonders of the dagger and encourages him to steal it from the Duke so he may gain control of the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin burns down the Duke's castle and snatches the dagger for himself. In the woods, he summons Zoso, who appears as a hooded figure. Rumplestiltskin cowers in fear of him, but quickly reacts in a blinded rage when Zoso taunts that his son was fathered by someone else. Zoso is stabbed to death by him, and reverts to human form. Rumplestiltskin is stunned at his true identity while Zoso briefly laments about life being a great burden for himself. Lastly, he affirms that Rumplestiltskin is the perfect pawn to help ensure his own death because he, like himself, is a desperate man. Upon death, Zoso's name disappears from the dagger while Rumplestiltskin's name replaces his, becoming the new Dark One. }} Hook, the second Dark One at that time, enacts a portal in Storybrooke to the Underworld to bring back all the previous Dark Ones. Zoso is among the Dark Ones that come back to life to snuff out the light. After Hook opens a portal to the Underworld, all the souls of the deceased Dark Ones claim a living soul to replace their souls in the Underworld. When the heroes confront Hook and all the former dead Dark Ones, the spirit of Nimue magically chokes Emma. Hook realizes what kind of man he wants to be, using Excalibur, which he obtained by tricking Emma into giving it to him after she got it from Mr. Gold, to absorb the spirits of the Dark Ones. Hook begs his true love to kill him, destroying the Darkness and letting him die a hero. Emma reluctantly does this, destroying the sword, along with the Darkness's hold on her. }} Magical Abilities Trivia |-|Character Notes= Etymology *The Dark One's name, Zoso, refers to a nickname for Led Zeppelin guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, who was represented on Led Zeppelin's fourth (unnamed) album by a symbol resembling the letters ZoSo. "Desperate Souls" premiered on the night before Page's sixty-eighth birthday. Character Notes *Zoso is featured in the title card for "Desperate Souls".File:108Title.png |-|Other Notes= ''Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale *Zoso had been the Dark One for decades before he tricked Rumplestiltskin into taking the curse onto himself.Beane, Odette. ''Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale, p. 142. New York: Hyperion, 2013. Appearances STORYBOOKS *Zoso is mentioned in Henry's storybook in "Dreamcatcher".File:505RumplestiltskinStorybook.png}} Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage. References }}fr:Zoso it:Zoso ru:Зосо nl:Zoso Category:Male Characters Category:Season One Characters Category:Once Upon a Time Characters Category:Season Four Characters Category:Season Five Characters Category:Magic Users